Will The Real 3801 Please Stand Up
What Is The True Colour Of This Iconic Loco?
When I started my career as a railway enthusiast, 3801 was considered to be the ultimate machine, or at least in NSW.
Built in 1943, this streamlined Pacific was withdrawn from normal duties in 1967, and from that time rarely hauled regular trains.
While I haven’t seen this loco for some time, I have seen disturbing pictures indicating the colour of this engine is more like something out of a comic book than a real steam loco.
This colour green looks a bit sickly to me, what do you think?
My earliest colour shot of 3801 was taken at Moss Vale in the mid 1960s. You can tell it is an earlier shot as there is no knuckle coupler on the front. This was fitted for the run to Perth in 1970 on the Western Endeavour.
The Western Endeavour near Blackheath in 1970 heading west.
Now for my shot taken before this time. We were on a tour with 3526 and 2705 that had been to Hill Top and the Thirlmere loop long before Trainworks was established. Perhaps someone can fill us in on the exact date.
3801 Without Knuckle Coupler Moss Vale Mid 1960s.
After the Perth run, 3801 spent 3 days on the short north hauling Newcastle Flyers and other trains between Gosford and Newcastle. Here is a picture from that time.
3801 at Broadmeadow in December 1970 on an all stations train from Gosford
So, there you have it. To my eye, the earlier shot with the manual coupler has the same colour scheme as that of the Perth days.
Stop Press
While reviewing “Lenses South” I came across an old photo of 3801 in olive green. Can someone tell me if this was the original green for 3801?
The question is, are the more recent photos I am finding really that much of an iridescent green, or is it just the colour in the images?
Let us know. In the meantime here is another more recent photo.
I can’t help it, bu these days it looks more like a toy! Regardless, it would be great to see it running again.
Here is a video of 3801 in 2005 “Ghastly Green”.
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That new colour looks like a Disney theme scheme. Give it back its original colour. I was brought up on steam trains in Sydney in the 40’s & 50’s and the Thirlmere Loop as I used to stay at Thirlmere with the Chalker’s.
Thanks for the article and thought provoking discussion. This was discussed on numerous occasions with the locomotives previous custodians and the ‘final’ paint of green was apparently sourced from a sample that originated back in operational service. I still believe that this green is not true to colour or the locomotive.
If you were to compare this last colour and that of footage from ‘3801 A legend in steam’ OR ‘A Steam Train Passes’ there is very little resemblance in my opinion.
I personally think the locomotive looked its best during the mid 1960’s as seen in your photo without the knuckle coupler at Moss Vale.
The date of your photo of 3801 at Moss Vale was 4 March 1967. The train was No. 332 Goods, which had arrived from Goulburn behind 3818+3801. I was there too. I have a near-identical b & w photo of 3801 taken about the same time on the same day. I had earlier climbed the Moss Vale Up Arrival signal mast to photograph the double-38’s arriving.
Thanks Rob, there is a very nice picture of this train in “Lenses South” taken at the top of Exeter bank.
I was on the 3526/2705 train also. It was to coincide with the centenary of the opening of the line to Mittagong. I took a photo at Moss Vale of 3526 (in blue) on the tour train in Platform 1 and 3801 beside it on the goods train. A similar colour photo was retailed by the RTM subsequently. This was my second “steam tour”.
All of the pictures above show 3801 in the wrong shade of green. When painted green in 1946 and subsequent overhauls prior to its 1956 black, 3801 and its four sisters were painted in a darker shade of green much more similar to that which 3808 and 3813 were given in 1954 and 1955 respectively. The correct shade is closer to 3830’s recent (1997) repaint. The August 1963 return to green saw an entirely new to 38 Class shade of green being used.
The modern green is how newer paint formulations (two pack) look in certain light. It cannot be compared to older lead based paint because it will always look different depending on the light.